A scene of mild drama unfolded at the Magistrate Court in Kuje, Abuja, on Friday as police officers allegedly, and forcefully rearrested human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporter, an independent newsroom in Nigeria, Omoyele Sowore, just moments after he was granted bail by the court.
The arrest occurred shortly after Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id granted bail to Mr Sowore and 13 other defendants, including Emmanuel Kanu, brother of Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu, and Aloy Ejimakor, a former counsel to Kanu. The group had been arrested for leading #FreeNnamdiKanu protest into places termed as “restricted areas” of Abuja on Thursday.
Magistrate Sai’id had set bail at N500,000 with two sureties each. The bail conditions also required the defendants to provide a verified National Identification Number (NIN), three-year tax clearance certificates, and passports.
However, the Nigerian Legal System witnessed a climax as the relief was short-lived. Witnesses reported that shortly after the court ruling, a detachment of police officers, led by CSP Iliyasu, the Officer in Charge of Anti-Vice at the State Command CID, confronted Sowore, while whisking him away within the court premises.
The legal counsel to Mr Sowore, Tope Temokun, alleged that the officers descended violently upon Omoyele Sowore in a bid to “abduct” him. Temokun claimed both him and others who attempted to intervene were physically assaulted while leaving him with a blood-stained bib.
“They descended violently upon Omoyele Sowore and those present in the full glare of the public, abducted Sowore and whisked him away to an unknown destination,” Temokun stated. “Let it be known that Sowore was not taken to prison.”
Meanwhile, the police have yet to issue an official statement about the reasons behind Sowore’s rearrest or his current whereabouts. The incident has raised fresh concerns about the treatment of activists and the rule of law in Nigeria.
Background
Recall that Mr Sowore and several others led a civil outcry under the hashtag #FreeNnamdiKanu, a protest motivated to free the proscribed IPOB leader who is facing terrorism and terrorism–related offences, following the presidential pardon granted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The protest organizers argued that while the clemency favoured hardened criminals convicted of serious offences, people like Nnamdi Kanu did not deserve to be serving unlawful incarceration behind the bar.
Meanwhile, Mr Sowore and 13 had been arrested for defiling a court order during the protest on Thursday, as Abuja Federal High earlier ruled the protesters not to step on specific location during their activities on Monday, October 20.
Violation of human rights was reported to have marred the protest as police allegedly shot teargas canisters at commuters and protesters.
The police also arrested Aloy Ejimakor, one of the lawyers who represented Nnamdi Kanu, among others. The police also charged the arrested individuals with various offences, including conspiracy, disobedience of a law order, inciting disturbance of public peace—all those offences alleged to have violated section 152, 114, and 133 of the Penal Code.